Dominion
by Nomen Oblitum
Summary: AU. 14 years ago, the Kingdom of Konoha fell to Suna Empire with a treacherous assasination. Now, Ino Yamanaka, Konoha's last surviving princess must reclaim her birthright and save her people from Suna's oppression. Chapter 4 revised, Chapter 5 up.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters found therein. So don't sue me, I'm allergic to lawyers.

The Land of Fire Falls

Konoha's royal library was illuminated by the warm light of a blazing brazier casting the neatly stacked books and carefully assembled exhibits in an eerie orange glow as they bore witness to King Inoichi Yamanaka desperately fending a vicious cut aimed at splitting his skull in twain.

"You traitors," he hissed between gritted teeth, looking around him at the ring of soldiers that stood impassively around him. All wore the crimson and gold livery of the Kingdom of Konoha. His kingdom. "What do you think you're doing? I am your king!"

"Allow me to explain, Sire," a new voice broke in. Inoichi looked past the gathered soldiers to see General Shikaku Nara enter the library.

"These men are small fraction of the ones who feel that the current war with Sunagakure is cannot be won. That your call for an unending struggle against the invaders will only bring death and suffering to our people. These men want to save lives of their friends and family by taking yours. And frankly, my old friend, if you do not listen to reason and rescind your decision, I will be inclined to agree with them.

"You're not saving them, Shikaku. You're dooming them to a life of slavery under the banner of Sunagakure!"

General Nara shook his head. "And the annihilation of Konohagakure and the rest of the kingdom is an acceptable option? The Land of Wind is at our marching on our doorstep with hundreds of thousands of soldiers, trampling everything in their way. Our own forces will be outnumbered almost ten to one!"

"We can hold indefinitely behind Konohagakure's walls…" Inoichi began before he was cut off.

"Are you still spouting that nonsense? Against an army of that size, we do not stand a chance. Yes, our men have proven time and time in this war, they've the spirit and will to defeat vastly superior forces, we will not get by on clever strategies and surprise this time," General Nara said angrily. "Stop this foolishness and don't make do something I don't want to do."

"Konoha will prevail!" the King declared. "And your treachery will not go unpunished!" Inoichi rushed forward and brought his sword up, ready to strike down his unfaithful general, when he felt his entire body go rigid. He legs had suddenly found themselves rooted to the floor and his arms locked in place. A quick glance at the ground told him why.

A single tendril of shadow across the library's polished wooden floor joined the king and his general as one and held the king fast.

"I'm sorry that it's come to this, Inoichi," Shikaku said sadly. He raised his right hand and the ring of soldiers lowered their pikes to point at their king. "This is for the future of Konoha."

"Konoha has no longer has a future," Inoichi said as Shikaku's hand fell and the soldiers charged, impaling their former king from all directions.

Extracting their pikes from the body, they let the king fall to the floor with a wet thud. Shikaku walked over to the body and knelt beside it. He gently closed Inoichi's still open eyes and said a quick prayer for him. Inoichi may have been ready to foolishly sacrifice the people of Konoha in a battle they couldn't win, but he was still a friend to Shikaku.

"Papa?"

The soldiers quickly turned and brought their weapons at the ready only to find a small, blond girl standing in the entrance of the library. She looked to be no older than three years old. Her eyes were wide with fear and she clutched a stuffed animal that almost bigger than her.

"Papa?," she repeated softly. "Uncle Shikaku, what's wrong with Papa?"

Shikaku stood up from the body walked over to the little girl. "Ino," he began slowly. "Don't worry about your father. We'll take alright of him, alright?" He beckoned and a rather portly soldier stepped forward.

"Take the princess back to her room," he ordered loudly for the princess' benefit. He then leaned toward the soldier and whispered into his ear. "Sunagakure will not accept our surrender as long as the royal family still lives. Put her to bed and dispatch her quickly. Do not let her suffer."

The soldier nodded grimly and held his hand out for Ino to latch onto. "Come with me, Highness," he said gently.

Ino looked from the soldiers hand to Shikaku, her eyes still somewhat fearful. Shikaku gave her a small smile. "Go on. Everything will be fine." Ino finally took the hand reluctantly and Shikaku watched them disappear into the darkened hallway.

"Take care of this body," he ordered, addressing the remaining soldiers. "And execute the remaining members of the royal family."

* * *

Ino and the soldier walked in silence through darkened corridors of the palace, slowly making their back to the princess' room. Back to bed for the princess where the soldier would put her to sleep forever. He was not sure if he really could snuff out the life of a little girl to save the lives of thousands of others.

"Is Papa really going to be alright?" she asked him suddenly.

The soldier looked down to see a pair of innocent, sky-blue eyes filled with worry. Eyes still untainted by cynicism and distrust. Eyes very much like the ones of his own son.

"I'm sure he's fine. He's in good hands with General Nara," he assured her, giving her a weak smile.

The girl smiled back at him. "What's your name?" she asked.

"Choza Akimichi. But you can just call me Choza."

"Thank you then, Choza, for taking care of me," she said sweetly.

It was at that moment that Choza made his decision. He could not kill this child, not even to save Konoha from destruction. He dropped his pike and suddenly scooped the child up into his arms and began to run in the opposite direction. She squealed in surprise and dropped her stuffed animal.

"What are you doing? Where are we going?"

"I'm taking you to some place safe. Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you."

Choza ran all the way to the palace stables where he quickly saddled a horse and put the princess on. Holding her steady do she wouldn't fall, he then mounted the horse himself and sent it galloping into the night, leaving behind the bloodstained keep.


	2. Morning Theatrics

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters found therein. So don't sue me, I'm allergic to lawyers.

Morning Theatrics

Even after 14 years under the banner of Sunagakure, Konoha's bazaar was still no stranger to huge throngs of shoppers in the morning. The large open market was home to literally hundreds of merchants and peddlers going about their business beneath brightly colored tarps that protect their booths and their merchandise from the heat of the Konoha sun. Anything and everything that could possibly be sold for even a few pieces of copper, from fresh fruits and vegetables, to toys, to weapons, to elixirs guaranteed to cure any ailment, to reams of bright fabric could be found at what the vendors tell their customers is a bargain. But today's crowd was gathered for a different reason.

"Give me back my husband!" a woman's voice cried out.

"I didn't do anything wrong!" screamed a prisoner being led to an armored wagon.

"I don't know anything about the Resistance!" another protested.

"You can't do this!"

The gathered throng was only just held back by a line of soldiers wielding spears and shields and wearing the stark black and white uniform of the Suna Empire as they shouted their defenses of the accused and pleaded for their release. The accused themselves added to the cacophony with their mixed pleas of innocence and for mercy. But the soldiers held their place and the arrests continued.

"Hold them back you idiots!" shouted the flustered commander. He was young, younger than most of the troops under his command and wore the uniform of a lieutenant. His voice was that of a noble, a voice that rang with the arrogance of being accustomed to instant, unquestioned obedience. A voice that now rang with an audible note of frustration.

"Silence all of you!" he shouted again, this time to the crowd of citizens. "This is by the order of the Acting Regional Governor. Your treacherous insurgency brought this upon you with their treacherous assassination of Lord Shikaku. This city is under martial law until the insurgency is brought to heel and order is restored."

"And order will be restored when the Suna Empire is expelled from Konoha forever!" a new voice declared from above the crowd. The citizens and soldiers all turned to see above them a figure in blue standing on one of the walkways connecting the buildings together with her arms folded over her chest and a confident smirk across her face.

The figure took the form of a slender woman who held her blond hair back in a long ponytail with a glossy blue ribbon. She wore an elegant, ankle-length dress beneath a short cape, both of which were shared the same blue of the ribbon. A rapier hanging from her waist in a worn leather scabbard and a black domino mask that obscured the upper half of her face completed the ensemble and signaled her identity to the townspeople.

"It's the Konoha Rose!" cried out a voice amidst the throng as the masked woman drew her sword and leapt gracefully from her perch. She flew through the air above the people like the very wind itself, planting the heel of one of her long leather boots into the face of a soldier and using as a spring board into a final somersault that brought her behind their leader. She twisted his arm behind his back and bent him over with her rapier held at his neck before he or any of the other soldiers could do anything to stop her. A few had their spears leveled at her as a hush fell over the bazaar.

"The Konoha Rose, eh? You have a lot courage to challenge this many of the Land of Wind's finest alone. Especially with the price on your head," said the officer in her custody through clenched teeth. The soldiers around them began to inch closer, brandishing their weapons.

"And you've a bold tongue for someone whose life is another's hands," the Rose replied coolly. "You must be a spoiled noble to be in command of your own platoon at your age."

"I am Katsuhiko, the son of the Emperor's closest advisor. You will regret assaulting me and my men today."

"We'll see about that. But for the time being, you will tell your men to stand down. Unless, of course, you want to be the one regretting."

"The Empire doesn't negotiate with terrorists."

She replied by pressing her blade against his throat with and cutting him just enough to draw blood. "How about now?" she whispered menacing into his ear.

Katsuhiko swallowed a sudden lump in his throat and nodded. "Stand down men," he said to them. The soldiers looked at each other and hesitated for a moment before the Rose tightened her grip on his arm and made their commander yelp in pain. "For goodness' sake, stand down!" he shouted at them.

The men, who had by now formed a ring of readied spears at the masked vigilante, shouldered their weapons and took several steps back.

"Excellent," the Rose said and gestured toward the captured townspeople who were clapped in irons around the armored wagon. "Now then, tell them to let all of these good people go unmolested."

Katsuhiko looked to his men with a somewhat frantic look in his eyes. "You heard her. Release them." Again the soldiers looked at each and hesitated. "I said let them go, you idiots!" he shouted in desperation.

The soldiers quickly went in to action and filled the square with the click of opening locks and ringing of falling manacles. The freed men wasted no time running past the line of soldiers holding back the crowd and jumping into the waiting arms of their families.

"There, I freed them. Now let me go," the young lieutenant demanded.

"You're in no position to be issuing orders to me," The Rose replied.

"You can't do this! I did everything you said!"

"And you did spendidly. But I'm not done with you just yet."

Despair filled Katsuhiko's heart as thoughts of his impending doom filled his head. There had to be a way to talk his way out of this. But the problem was that the woman was clearly insane. She'd have to be to have the audacity to hold a noble at sword-point in front of heavily armed group of Imperial troops. There was no guarantee that she would listen to anything he had to say.

Wait, he thought. That was it. The only thing stopping the soldiers from running her through where she stood was the fact that he was a hostage. She needed him alive to escape. And he could use that escape as a bargaining chip.

"Then it seems we have reached an impasse," he said placatingly.

"Have we now?"

"Yes. I want you to let me go, and you need me to get out of this alive."

"Perhaps," she said as she looked toward the crowd and scanned the gathered faces. A smile crossed her face as she spotted a hooded shape in a black cloak calmly making his way to the front of the crowd.

She sent the cloaked figure a quick wink and received a short nod in reply. Alright, she thought to herself. Now is the time to make a break for it.

"But that need hinges on one critical assumption," she said matter-of-factly.

"And what's that?"

"That I'm working alone," she said while five hard, black spheres rolled past the soldiers and gave off a menacing hiss that abruptly ended as they rolled to stop in front the pair. Katsuhiko looked down at the spheres and his eyes widened in shock as the crowd unleashed a collective gasp.

They were bombs.

And they exploded with a thunderous bang, not injuring anyone, but sending the townsfolk fleeing in all directions and filling the market with acrid, black smoke that choked off all visibility within it.

Taking advantage of the confusion, the Konoha Rose finally released the lieutenant and dove for the edge of the smoke cloud. She burst free of the smoke screen somewhat disoriented, but strong grip on her arm held her steady and pulled her away from the bedlam.

"Damn it, Ino. If you're going to keep doing this, at least have an escape plan," said the cloaked figure, dragging her along as they ran through the streets as fast as their feet could take them.

"I did have a plan, Chouji," Ino, the Konoha Rose, said as she pulled her arm away from her rescuer. "And you pulled it of perfectly."

"You there! Stop in the name of the Suna Empire!" The alarm came from a voice that was to close for Ino's liking.

"Looks like we'd better split up," Ino decided. "Think you can lose them on your own, Chouji?"

Chouji grinned beneath his hood. "Who do you think you're talking too?" he said brashly. "Let's meet up at the flower shop."

Ino nodded in reply. "Okay," she said before suddenly jumping up to grab a low hanging flag pole, and using it to fling herself into a nearby balcony. She clambered up onto the roof top of the building and disappeared from Chouji's sight.

"Showoff," he muttered under his breath while turning into a narrow alleyway he knew to be a shortcut back to the flower shop.


	3. Interruptions

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters found therein. So don't sue me, I'm allergic to lawyers.

Interruptions

Sitting outside of a pleasant little rooftop café in a higher class section of town, Shikamaru looked out at the city of Konohagakure and let out a soft sigh of irritation. He was not sighing at the view; Konohagakure's architects went out of their way to add numerous spires, grand facades and flying buttresses to many of the buildings in this part of the city so it was hard for him not to like it. Rather, he was sighing at what being in the city for the first time in 14 years meant for him.

"How troublesome," his blond companion said in mock irritation. She sat across from him clad in a simple, elegant lavender dress and with her hair up in four ponytails. When his own swarthy complexion and dark, wild hair held up in a single high ponytail, to her elegant beauty, they couldn't look any more mismatched.

A wide array of delicacies unique to Konoha was laid out in front of her and she was eating them with a polite, regal manner of an Imperial princess. She smiled at him as she asked, "That's what you really wanted with that sigh isn't it?"

"Of course, Temari. What else could I possibly say in a situation like this?"

"Well you could be saying 'Hey Temari, that mochi looks pretty good. Let me have a bite,' or something along those lines," she said with a laugh.

"Somehow, I don't think you and I are having the same conversation," Shikamaru replied. "But on that note, why are we here? You could probably have all of this and more when we arrived at the palace."

"But it wouldn't be the real thing," she protested. "Local food is best prepared by local hands. Besides, unlike you, I've never experienced life in Konoha."

"Three years that I don't remember don't count. I was sent to be raised at the Imperial Court when my father assumed power here, recall?" he snapped back.

"I know, I was there for that," she said a little placatingly. "And lighten up, I'm only joking you know."

"Whatever." Shikamaru turned to look at the city again. He may have been born here, but it didn't really feel like home. But then again, neither did Sunagakure. His father sent to live under the aegis of the Suna Empire as a show of good faith. Shikamaru was little more than a well-treated hostage to make sure his father submitted completely to the Emperor's will. "Troublesome woman," he muttered, annoyed that Temari brought more dark musings to the front of his mind.

"Humorless crybaby."

"Crazy witch."

Temari gave a little laugh at the rising anger in his voice. She had little to fear, Shikamaru was all bark and no bite and even then only when he was in the mood to bark. But still she decided to back off for the time being. "Okay, seriously, what's bothering you?" she asked.

"Nothing," he said quickly.

Now it was Temari's turn to sigh. "We're not going to survive marriage if you're not going to be open with me."

"We're not married yet."

"We will be soon enough. Now start talking."

Shikamaru scowled at her. She truly was a troublesome woman. His engagement to her was a another measure negotiated by his father to help cement Konoha into the empire. The idea was that having the future ruler of the region married to an imperial princess would promote unity and give legitimacy to imperial rule.

"I can't do this. I can't. It's too much responsibility," he began before he was cut off.

"Is it really that you can't?" she asked him suddenly. "Or is it because you don't want to?"

"How about I don't want to because I can't?"

"Your father was assassinated by insurgents and so your family's land and titles are passed to you. There really isn't anything you can do about it, so stop whining you crybaby," Temari replied as she took a bite from a skewer of sticky dango. "This is really good dango, Shikamaru," she said, passing a skewer to Shikamaru.

He took it from her outstretched hand but didn't take a bite. "How do they expect me to rule over a place that I haven't even seen in 14 years? I don't know anything about this city or the people."

Temari looked up from the smorgasbord to say something else when a pile of blue suddenly landed on their table.

Shikamaru was surprised to say the very least. It's not everyday that a beautiful girl comes flying out of the sky to land on a table on a table in front of you. And yet there she was, the upper half of her face obscured by a mask, but what Shikamaru could easily see that she was quite beautiful. Their eyes met, briefly, only long enough for them to see the mutual surprise in the other's eyes.

And then, as suddenly as she appeared, she attempted to disappear, launching herself form the tabletop and overturning in the process. She landed at the edge of the rooftop and bounded off again to the roof of the next building.

"What the hell was that?" Shikamaru finally managed to say when the girl in blue disappeared.

"A dead girl!" Temari roared in answer.

"What?" Shikamaru turned to Temari and shuddered in realization. She was covered from head to toe in split food, and was visibly shaking in anger. "Temari, are you okay?" he asked, hoping to calm her down.

She replied by glaring daggers at him and drawing one of two steel war fans that had been held by a sash at her waist, causing him to flinch back. She cut her thumb on the razor edge of the fan and smeared the blood across a special set of runes on its face. She flicked the fan violently and shouted, "I summon thee, Kamatari!"

At the sound of his name, Kamatari appeared in huge cloud of white smoke. He was a gigantic, blue weasel who hovered in the air before them clutching an equally large sickle. He had an eye-patch over one eye and spoke with a menacingly deep voice. "What do you want now, human?" it said irritably.

"We're going after her," she said, pointing in the direction the girl had gone in. "She needs to die."

"A hunt, eh?" the weasel sounded intrigued. "Very well, get on."

As soon he gave the word, Temari leapt onto his back with a grace that rivaled the other girl's own entrance. They took off after with blinding speed, leaving Shikamaru behind, buffeting both him and the other patrons by the winds kicked up in their wake.

Ino felt a strange sense of foreboding as she continued to flee away from the mess she made at the bazaar. She didn't mean to ruin that young couple's meal but she didn't remember there ever being a restaurant at that particular rooftop before. They looked like rich folk to Ino, so it probably wouldn't a problem for them to just get more food later. But that wasn't what was worrying Ino.

Among the many things that she had learned from Choza as she grew up, basic magic was one of them. He had said that having at least a working knowledge of magic would be helpful in defending herself against it should she ever need to. So when she felt that characteristic build up and release of energy that accompanied the casting of a spell come from behind her, she just had to turn and look. And she turned just in time to see a huge sickle bearing down on her.

She ducked as quickly as she could, letting the blade pass just inches over her, and rolled in the direction it had come from. Ino then gave a quick about face and saw what looked like a messy young woman riding a flying weasel. Most surprisingly to Ino, was that the weasel, and not the woman was the one wielding the sickle. The odd looking rider and even more bizarre mount banked to the left and flew in for another pass, but this time Ino was ready.

As the weasel swooped in, with what Ino swore was a maniacal grin on its face, she jumped toward them, tackling the other woman and knocking her from her perch. They landed on the rooftop with hearty smack, and with Ino on top. Unfortunately, before Ino could savor the minor victory, she was knocked off by a vicious backhand strike to the face.

Ino rolled away and brought herself into a crouch as the other woman pulled herself to her feet and drew a pair of metal war fans from sash at her waist. She drew her own rapier in response and could see that she was covered in what looked like a myriad of sauces and sticky food.

"Being mad at me and looking like that, I'll bet you came from that restaurant I landed in," she taunted lightly.

"That is correct, peasant," she said with an angry glower. "I am Princess Temari of the Suna Empire. And you will die for the humiliation you put me through."

"I've fought worse things than a spoiled princess," Ino countered. She took the initiative and attacked, her rapier aimed for a killing strike at the princess' head.

But the princess didn't even flinch. She merely deflected the thrust with the fan in her left hand, allowing it pass through the empty air beside her. Temari than brought her other fan in an upward slash that Ino quickly stepped back to avoid.

For several moments, they dueled like a pair of graceful dancers. Ino stepped and floated around her opponent, using her weapon's greater reach to make attacks from unusual angles and then fade out of reach of counter-swipes by the razor fans. Temari's fans swept around her around in wide arcs, turning her into a whirling wall of relentless, razor-sharp steel that inched ever closer into Ino's reach.

And then, suddenly and without warning, the princess broke off her attack and leapt away from Ino, landing in a crouch several yards away.

Before Ino could even think of going after her, a familiar sickle split the roof and rest of the building beneath her completely in two. The weasel was back and was still wearing its maniacal grin.

Ino fell backwards in surprise and nearly lost her grip on her sword on the way down. Temari saw her go down and decided to end it. "Finish her, Kamatari!"

"You got it," the weasel rumbled, and he raised the sickle high above his head. "This will only hurt for a moment," he assured Ino.

The sickle came down and all Ino could think about was how ridiculous it was that her Grim Reaper was a giant weasel. Another release of magical energy made itself felt in the back of her mind, but never registered in her consciousness, so it came as a surprise when an equally large deer slammed into the weasel, goring it with its antlers. The sickle landed into the deer's back instead of in Ino and both wounded summons disappeared in an explosion of white smoke.

"That's enough, Temari," a voice from behind her said. Ino turned to see her rescuer standing on the roof of the building next to this one. It was the other girl's companion, the dark haired boy from the restaurant.

"No, she must pay!" Temari shouted back, raising her war fans once more and continuing her attack.

But Ino had had enough of this. The boy may have been inclined to save her once, but he doubted he would do it again if she continued to threaten his companion. Drawing on her elementary magic lessons, she quickly performed a special series of hand seals Choza taught and channeled her personal energy through them.

When she formed the last seal, an explosion of smoke not unlike the one made when the weasel disappeared shrouded her from view and made Temari pause in caution. The smoke cleared to reveal not one, but four identical Inos standing shoulder to shoulder.

The Inos charged in unison, all emitting a shrill, exaggerated battle cry with their swords above their heads. But as they came within striking distance of Temari, they each broke away suddenly, changing directions and bounding off to four different rooftops, in four different directions.

Temari was left alone, seething inwardly on the empty roof with her fans. There wasn't any way that she could chase after each copy without expending a great deal of time and effort. The girl in blue made good her escape for now, but she would not escape Temari's wrath for long. In the meantime, she was going to have a few choice words with Shikamaru.

Shikamaru stood on the adjacent roof and braced himself for Temari's tirade. He watched as she effortlessly leapt between rooftops and angrily march up and grab him by the collar and bring his face down to her eyelevel.

"What the hell did you think you were doing?" she roared into his face.

"I was stopping you from destroying more property than you already did," Shikamaru replied calmly, detaching himself from her grip and gesturing toward the building that her weasel had cut in two. "Irreparably damaging buildings to kill one person is not going to endear us to anyone."

"You have no right to interfere in my battles," she hissed coldly.

"I do when your fights are going to make my job harder," he retorted. "In any case, we should get back to the palace. Standing around here isn't going to solve anything now that she's gotten away. And I doubt you want to be in those clothes any longer than necessary."

Temari let him go and took a step back. He had a point, she conceded in her mind. "Fine. But as soon as we get there I want the city guard mobilized and searching for her. I want her found and I want her to pay."

"Fair enough. Now let's get down from here."


	4. The Garden

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters found therein. So don't sue me, I'm allergic to lawyers.

The Garden

"She's late."

"Will you relax, Chouji?" Sakura said as she looked up from the pots of flowers that she was attending to watch him anxiously pace the floor of the shop. "You're scaring away my customers."

"I can't help it. Ino should have been here by now. Something might have happened."

Chouji had a point. Ino, especially while she was a masked rogue, wasn't really one to dally. It didn't take very long to get to Sakura's flower shop from the bazaar and it had been several hours since they caused that scene in the bazaar and the sun was being to hang fairly low in the sky. She could see why Chouji might feel the need to pace frantically.

Then again, Sakura thought, Chouji is always worried about Ino's safety. He was never comfortable with the fact that Ino chose to expose herself to danger the way she did. That was why he never failed to follow her out while she masqueraded as the Konoha Rose and act as her support.

"I'm going to go look for her," he said firmly, suddenly and started to march out of the store before he was held back by a hand from Sakura.

"Just wait. Ino's escaped from the city guard lots of times before. It won't be any different today."

"You don't know that."

"Maybe," she conceded. "But if the Imperials managed to catch the Konoha Rose, the city would be in an uproar and we would know. She'll be here. She always comes back okay."

Sakura watched the conflict play across his face. Chouji had always been easy to read. She could see that he was struggling to bring himself to believe in her, and at the same time wanting to tear the city apart looking for her. In her mind, it was actually quite sweet.

"Fine," he said finally. "I'll wait another hour. If she's not back by then, I'm going to look for her regardless of what you say."

"Good enough," Sakura replied. "One hour and then you can run to her rescue."

No sooner had those words left her mouth, than Ino came sauntering through the back of the store with a triumphant smile on her face. She looked disheveled and her outfit had several large tears in it, but for the most part, she looked unharmed.

"Whose rescue are we running to?" asked Ino as she took her mask off. "I just rescued a whole bunch pf people this morning, and now there are more of them already?"

"Ino!" Chouji cried in surprise as rushed over and grabbed her by the shoulders. "Are you alright? You're a mess! What happened?" Each statement was shouted at the top of his lungs and punctuated with several rough shakes, sending Ino's head bouncing around like dice in a cup.

Sakura placed a hand on Chouji's shoulder and pulled it to get his attention. "Easy there. If she's wasn't okay before, she definitely won't be okay if you keep shaking her like that."

"Oh! S-sorry, Ino!" he said quickly when saw Ino grab her head and smile weakly at him, clearly a bit dizzy. Chouji immediately released her and stepped back, turning away to hide a slight blush of embarrassment.

"So what did happen to you?" Sakura asked when Ino recovered. She ran her eyes up and down Ino's clothes and surveyed what damage she could see. "If you're going to make me stay up all night fixing that outfit of yours again, I at least deserve an explanation."

Ino gave an embarrassed laugh. She thought that she looked quite shabby. Ino lifted the skirt of the dress to show Sakura the true extent of the damage. There were slices and tears from her fight with the Suna princess and she was covered in the dust kicked up by the weasel's sickle attacks.

"The important thing is that I'm fine, right?" she asked Sakura with a sheepish grin.

"Not when I have to deal with the consequences of your actions," Sakura replied flatly.

"And not when you leave people for wondering if your dead or alive for hours," Chouji added.

Ino put her hands up in surrender. "Alright, I get the point. Here's the short story. I got stopped by an Imperial Princess after I interrupted her morning meal. I spent all day making sure I wasn't being tracked."

"What!" Chouji gaped. Sakura just looked at her, eyes wide with surprise.

"Well, considering the kind of security a princess must have, it's miracle you're in the condition you're in," Sakura commented.

"No, the princess was the one who did this."

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah," Ino said as she made her way to the stairs behind the counter of store. The stairs led up to the little tenement that Sakura lived in above the store. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get changed. You don't mind if I borrow some clothes do you, Sakura?"

"Actually, you have a dress up there that you left the last time you used my store as a staging area."

"Oh. I'll use that then."

"Just leave your Rose outfit on the bed. I'll get to it later."

"Thanks, Sakura. You're the best."

"Wait, wait, wait," Chouji interjected. "We're not done talking yet. You assaulted royalty! The city guard will probably be ordered to kill you on sight now. The Konoha Rose is going to have to lay low for while if not outright quit."

"We'll talk about that later, okay Chouji?"

"Why can't we talk about it now?"

"Because it's nearly curfew and when that comes around it'll be that much harder for me to get to the Garden."

Chouji scoffed at her. "You and your flowers. Doesn't your safety mean anything to you."

"Yes, it matters to me very much. But being able to do something to thank Sakura for all of her help matters a lot to me too."

"Whatever then," Chouji said, irritated with Ino's cavalier attitude. He was just trying to look out for her. "But we will talk about this. And dad wants to talk to you too so don't be out too late."

"And bring me back some of those blue roses you brought in the other day. I've some people who are interested buying a few," Sakura added.

"Alright, got it," Ino replied, finally ascending the stairs.

* * *

It been an about an hour from her departure from the store when Ino finally reached the outskirts of the city where The Garden was located. Chouji's last second warning about the curfew and Sakura's reminder about the roses still rang in her mind as she picked her way amongst the rumble and debris strewn in front of her.

If she remembered correctly, Choza had told her that the outskirts she was currently navigating was a residential area until Suna troops had razed it to the ground was in early on during their occupation, claiming that the area was festering with insurgent activity. They had driven out or killed everyone who lived there and destroyed most of the homes and buildings.

The overgrowth of weeds and dry scrub pushing up through the cracked pavement, the crumbling remains of stone walls and scattered pieces of charred, rotting wood made it difficult for her to believe that anyone had ever lived in this part of town within the last century, let alone the last decade.

She tried to imagine life here as she passed a brick wall that clearly once held a window in it. Stopping, she looked through the window and tried to picture what the interior might have been like before the Suna troops destroyed.

And in her mind's eye, she could see the living room, with a small family of four in it, much like the one she called her own, with a mother, a father and two children. A warm fire was burning in their hearth with a pot hanging over it. Dinner looked like it was going to be ready at any moment now and everyone was anxiously waiting for it as the lifted the and gave it a quick stir with a ladle. A family so much like her own…

Ino quickly blinked away the scene and tore her eyes away from the ruined wall. Whoever had lived in this building had died at the whim of a foreign power that had no right to be here. The very thought that her own family lived under the same threat everyday that Sunagakure continued to rule made her sick to her stomach.

But she boxed the feeling and fear away as best as she could into the furthest reaches of her mind. She was here to forget that she lived in terror that one day, she and everyone she loved would die at the hands of Suna troops randomly killing on a flimsy excuse. She was here to indulge in her favorite hobby, tending to the flowers at The Garden.

The Garden was not so much a garden as it was a makeshift nursery housed in the remains of a old cathedral.

Ino, Chouji and Sakura had found the cathedral years ago, on an expedition they took to the ruined district to test their own bravery. Back then, the outside of the cathedral was covered in vines and ivy and overgrown with weeds and low-growing shrubbery that pushed their way up through the rotting wooden floor. One wall had collapsed, the roof was gone and most of the glass was missing, but compared to most of the structures around, it was in pretty good shape. Chouji hadn't thought much of the cathedral when they found it. But Ino and Sakura saw incredible potential in the place and promptly returned, with Chouji in tow, the next day and began converting it into their own private nursery.

Ino's favorite thing about the Garden was that it was one place that the three of them could truly call theirs. They had built it, grew the flowers that now occupied it and accumulated years worth of memories and good times in it. And no one else in the entire city knew about it.

So when Ino arrived to find the doors of the cathedral flung open, she thought it was a little odd. Making her way around the miniture labyrinth of shattered stone and tall weeds that led to the doorway, she peered inside and immediately spotted someone standing at the front of the church, illuminated by the afternoon light showering the flower beds.

It was the young noble who was with the princess this morning. He stood staring irritably at something in the shadows when he suddenly turned and spotted her.

They stared at each other for several long moments in surprise and Ino's heart began to race. What was he, of all people doing there?


	5. Royal Reception

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters found therein. So don't sue me, I'm allergic to lawyers.

Royal Reception

Shikamaru felt a wave of anxiety pour over him as he caught sight of the gleaming gold of the palace gates from the seat the small, but luxurious carriage he shared with Temari. Once the carriage ferried him past those gates and into the threshold of the palace, that would be it. He would have to assume the responsibility of governing hundreds of thousands of people and the vast territory that was Konoha. He was in awe of the very thought, and dreaded it at the same time.

If Temari could listen to his thoughts, she would probably just to him to just accept his fate and stop whining. She sat across from him looking out of the window, surprisingly placid after the events of the morning. She was no longer covered in food, as she was able to change into a spare dress retrieved from her belongings. But the placid silence was very much out of her character. Perhaps she was the one feeling anxious about something.

"Hey. Are you okay?" Shikamaru asked her gently. "Brooding silently isn't really your style."

Temari gave him a sidelong look glance but did not move from her position. "And not complaining about the problems you're going to inherit while we ride within sight of the palace isn't really your style."

Telepathy or no, Temari knew him too well, Shikamaru thought. But then Shikamaru knew how Temari's mind worked as well. "I wouldn't worry too much about that girl. She won't hide forever. Anyone with the kind of audacity to assault a princess is bound to show up again."

"Oh, I'm quite sure that we'll meet again. And when we do, I'll make her pay for my humiliation," she said with steel undercutting the softness of her voice. "But why did you save her, Shikamaru?"

Shikamaru stiffened for a moment and tried to regain his composure before Temari noticed. "So that's what this is all about," he said, scratching the back of his head in an attempt to look nonchalant. "I already told you, the building was already destroyed and if you kept going it would just be one giant headache for me later when I have to deal with it." Which was very true. But that wasn't why he had acted.

In actuality, Shikamaru had no idea why he did it. It was more of a reflex than anything else. He had known that someone was going to die and so he stepped in. Wasn't that what was expected of a ruler?

"Is that really the truth?" Temari asked as she finally turned to face Shikamaru and bring the full force of her gaze to bear on him.

Shikamaru, in turn, forced himself to meet her gaze with his own. "Yes," he said firmly. "And I guess I was a little worried that things were getting out of control for you," he admitted softly after a moment.

"What?" she blurted out, her eyes going wide in surprise.

"You don't usually keep Kamatari around in a fight unless it's tough one, so I decided to end it before anyone got hurt."

"Humph." Temari turned to look out the carriage window again. "What an idiotic excuse. Like anyone, least of all that girl, can even touch me." Shikamaru heard the contempt dripping from her words, but thought he could see the faintest of smiles on Temari's lips.

Shikamaru and Temari passed the rest of the ride in silence, neither wishing to intrude on the thoughts of the other any further. They rode past the golden palace gates and along a narrow path in paved in cobblestones that meandered through the lush, beautiful outer courtyard. Looking out of the window of carriage was like watching a parade of colorful flowers, meticulously trimmed hedges and well manicured lawns.

The entrance way of the palace was equally grand. Shikamaru and Temari disembarked from the carriage to process up a fine, red carpet that was draped over a wide, polished, white marble stairway lined with gold. The stairway led to a huge, sweeping archway that, by Shikamaru's estimation, must have been at least twenty feet high. The archway looked to be made of the same type of marble as the stairway at it too was lined with bright, shimmering gold.

And beneath the archway, with their heads bowed in respect to the young royals, stood a woman dressed in the traditional cap and gown of a Sunagakure magistrate along with a few palace servants flanking her on either side.

"Welcome, Prince Shikamaru and Imperial Princess Temari. My name is Shizune, adviser to the Acting Regional Governor. I apologize for the lack of a proper reception as befits your status…"

"It's fine," Shikamaru quickly said, cutting her off. "And where exactly is my mother at the moment?"

"The Acting Governor is attending to an urgent matter in another part of the city."

"That's bold of her," Temari said with a smirk. "If I understand correctly, the resistance was able to get to the late governor while he was conducting business outside of the palace."

"Yes, he was checking on the progress of a new bridge over the river in the eastern part of the city when insurgents set off a series of explosive tags that leveled the bridge and killed him," Shizune explained. "However, your mother felt that it was important that the insurgency know that we will not be intimidated by criminal threats."

"I see. Could you show us to our rooms now? Temari and I have had a long journey."

"At once, Highness." Shizune snapped her fingers and two young maids, probably no older than either he or Temari stepped forward. "This is Hinata," she said, looking at Shikamaru gesturing to the girl on her right. "She will show you to your new quarters." She then motioned toward the other girl and looked at Temari. "And Tenten here will guide you to yours. Now please, enter and make yourselves at home."

"We certainly intend to," Temari said as the two maids led them in to the palace.

The walk to Shikamaru's room was a peaceful one. Hinata, thankfully enough, was like Temari's polar opposite, shy, polite and, above all, quiet. She led him to his room quickly, pulled the doors open and waited for Shikamaru to stride through.

"This is the palace's master bedroom. Your mother decided that as the heir to your father's throne this room should be yours," Hinata said quietly.

Shikamaru was visibly impressed by the vast room. It was easily bigger than some of the homes that Shikamaru had seen on his ride through Konoha and it was lavishly furnished. The huge bed alone may have been bigger than the carriage he had rode in on.

But one there was one feature of the room that caught his eye and bothered him immensely. It dominated the wall across fro the titanic bed, and gave Shikamaru a stern glare right back at him.

"Why is there a gigantic portrait of my father hanging in front of the bed?" he asked the young maid beside him, his right eyebrow twitching at the thought that he would wake up each morning to see his father looming over him. How was he supposed to enjoy the solitude of his room with someone, albeit an inanimate someone, watching his every move?

"Ah. This was put in on the order of your mother. She thought that knowing that you father is still watching over you will help you grieve and motivate you to do your best everyday," Hinata explained uncharacteristically brightly.

"This is too much," Shikamaru said, exasperated. If it was simply placed there by coincidence he could have ordered it removed but with his mother involved in its existence, that was no longer an option. His mother had lived with him in the Imperial capital for a few years and he knew that she could be worse than Temari when she didn't get her way. There really was no choice for him in the matter. Just like he had no choice about assuming a responsibility he wasn't ready for, he thought bitterly.

"Highness?" Hinata said abruptly, jarring Shikamaru out of his reverie.

"Uh, what? Is there something else?"

"No, I was just wondering if you were alright. You seem...distraught."

"I'm fine. I just need some time alone to think. You are dismissed."

Hinata bowed her head respectfully and gave him a polite curtsey. "Thank you, Your Highness. Do not hesitate to call on my services should they be required." She turned on her heel and left him alone with his father's portrait, closing the door behind her.

Engaging the portrait in another stare down, he decided that being alone in this room would not be conducive to the thinking that he wanted to do. Shikamaru reached into one of the inner pockets of his jacket and pulled out a red-backed scroll. It was the same scroll that he had used earlier that morning to summon the great elk, Daichi.

The scroll also contained the names the other deer that he could summon, and if Shikamaru remembered correctly, there was the name of a flying reindeer listed somewhere in the scroll.

He opened it up and scanned through the scroll. Sure enough the name he was looking for was there. Hideaki it was. And so with a name to summon, Shikamaru focused his magic and formed the hand seals.

"I summon thee, Hideaki!" he had cried with all his might, releasing the magical energy and opening a tear between dimensions and pushing something through with a burst of smoke.

"Hideaki, at your service," the massive summoned moose had said when the smoke cleared.

"Hideaki? But you're supposed to be a flying reindeer!"

"Hmm? No, that's Hideki you're looking for. You must have read that scroll wrong. But I can jump pretty good, watch!" And with that, the moose dipped his shaggy head, picked Shikamaru up in its great antlers and threw him over its wide back.

"What do you think your doing?" Shikamaru had shouted to the great moose.

"Watch!" Hideaki replied excitedly. He pushed through the crimson curtains and burst out of one the windows, sending shattered glass cascading to the ground below. Hideaki landed just outside the palace grounds, and before Shikamaru could say anything, he took off again. Shikamaru hung on for dear life as the moose bounded hundreds of feet at time, leaping from rooftop to rooftop, zigzagging his way to the outskirts of the city. There he came to a sudden, skidding stop in front of what looked to be the remains of an old cathedral.

"So what did you think?" Hideaki asked Shikamaru excitedly. "That was pretty good, right?"

"Oh, yes," Shikamaru said as he dismounted shakily. "You jumped so good, that I have absolutely no idea where the hell we are!"

"Well, it smells like we're near something tasty," the moose said with his nose in the air.

"Is that really all you have to say about the situation?" Shikamaru asked incredulously. "Damn it. Why does Temari get all of the smart summons?"

If Hideaki had heard any of Shikamaru's outburst, he gave no indication. He kept following his nose toward the cathedral and flung the doors open and went in.

"Hey! Are you listening to me?" Shikamaru followed him in, intent on bringing the moose to heel. He had brought that stupid moose into this plane of existence and he can damn well send him back.

But he was stopped cold but what he saw when he entered the cathedral.

He walked into a small, but beautiful patch of flowers. They were of all shapes, colors and shapes. Shikamaru didn't know what kinds of flowers they were—he usually didn't care about flowers—but he did know the number of varieties he could see could very well rival the number of varieties he saw in the place courtyard itself.

His moment of awe however, was interrupted by a rhythmic, casual munching. He looked irritably at Hideaki who had flowers hanging from either side of his wide mouth. But before Shikamaru could say anything, he saw something move in the corner of his eye. He turned and found himself looking at a beautiful, blond girl dressed in green looking in back at him from the entrance of the cathedral.

They looked at each other in stunned silence for a few moments as questions began to race through Shikamaru's head. Who was this girl and what was she doing here?


End file.
